Use Facebook to Grow Your Pet-Care Business

As a pet service professional, your time is focused on the animals and customers that require your attention so advertising and marketing may easily take a back seat. But as all smart business owners know, marketing your business is critical if sustainability and growth are your goals.

Fortunately, something as common as Facebook is actually a surprisingly good marketing tool.

Are you already a Facebook user? If so, you may already know that you are being marketed to on a daily basis. Perhaps you do not mind, because Facebook has clever algorithms to make sure you see content that you are genuinely interested in viewing. Your friends' and family's status and posts all blend together with the promotions you may see. Business owners have taken note, and many are reaping great benefits using Facebook.

If you are not using Facebook at this time, don't worry! It is easy to get on board and start using it to promote your business.

How? You set up a Facebook Business Page (which is both separate from and connected to your personal Facebook account) and you use this to promote your business. Both personal and business Facebook profiles are free to set up. Basic social media marketing is free, and some special campaigns come at a cost. It all depends on your marketing goals as to how much you wish to spend.

Now about those friends... Many times, your Facebook friends will want to be proactive with your business. After all, they are your friends! The ones that use your services will particularly enjoy hitting like and share for your business page. As your friends like your page, they expose your business to all of their Facebook connections. A nice part about this method is that Facebook is not demanding and your friends will not feel pressured.

Posting Great Content

"What should I post on my business page?"
Post statuses and updates about the services you offer.

• Post photos of your clients, their pets and your employees.
• Post interesting photos of your actual business premises, your services in action and your products.
• Post-upcoming events.
• Post any special offers coming up.
• Share articles that are relevant to your business.
• Share news and other articles that give tips and advice to your customers.
• Answer frequently asked questions.
• Publicly respond to client inquiries, if they post on your page.

Location Targeting

As a kennel boarding service, or any pet service professional, you naturally want to attract people who are already in your area. It does not make business sense to pay to market your business to the entire country (or world) when 99% of your clients live and work within a 30-mile radius of your establishment. By using Facebook's location targeting, you can set the catchment area you wish to target; the geographical radius you want to impact; and the amount you wish to spend. It is all under your control.

Learn more about Facebook's location targeting.

Creating Ads

• Reach the right location (like mentioned above)
• Target the correct demographics (animal lovers, pet owners, travelers).
• Reach people who share the same interests and behaviors (loving and caring for pets!)
• Connect with people who have “liked” your Page.
• Learn how to create a Facebook ad.

Facebook Pixel

Measuring Results

From scheduling and understanding reports to tracking conversions and relevancy, Facebook has all of the metrics and data you need to continually enhance your performance. Learn more about measuring Facebook marketing results.

This is just a taste of how Facebook can be an effective marketing tool. It has built-in programming and a built-in audience, the two most difficult aspects of any marketing promotion. All you need now is to take a few minutes to put together an ad or campaign and then you can let Facebook do the heavy lifting!